Far from Godliness
by The Captain Carrot
Summary: Oria Crimson, vessel for a Faceless One and partners with Lord Vile. Secretly a spy for the sanctuary's she hates what he makes her do. When they meet again, this time it's Skulduggery, and he still remembers what he did to her. Can they keep a friendship with all the dark secrets between them?
1. Chapter 1

**Ok. Here we go. I'm giving this another shot and here's the first chapter. Some things you should know if you read the other version are: Oria has not met Kane yet. She does not work for the sanctuary either. All of her friends are ones she knew before the war, and now they're with the sanctuaries. Hope that this is better than the other version, please tell me your thoughts on how it compares.**

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Oria looked down at the man trembling before her. She knew this man. They were very good friends. But right now, she wasn't his friend. She was his downfall. She was his executor. It had started a while ago. The generals had told her father that she was too soft towards the enemy, and that she needed to be tested. He consented, and the generals brought in prisoners for her to slaughter. The first few months had been no problem. She had executed them all without feeling any remorse. She was, after all, a soldier. In those trials, she was allowed to use her magic and make it painless for the victims. Then, her father had ordered that she use a sword instead. Still, it was fairly easy. The only regret she had was that she couldn't have made it painless for them. Then the generals started bringing sorcerers she knew. This was the hardest part. Looking into a friend or loved one's eyes and taking their lives from them. She grew to hate the generals, who wouldn't? She felt them staring at her, judging every moment she hesitated. She felt their expectations that she should fail and they could call her a traitor and a spy and torture her for the rest of her life. She glared and gripped the sword in her hand more tightly. She would never let that happen, even if it meant killing her friend to save herself. The shackled man looked pleadingly into Oria's eyes, silently begging her to throw her sword down and be a real friend. His eyes widened as he saw that there was nothing in her eyes except cold, merciless blue. She thrust her sword into his heart, feeling his body stiffen with pain, and then fall limply onto the ground, dead. The three generals looked at her gravely, disappointed that she hadn't broke down, sobbing. Well, at least, two of them did. It was hard to tell what the third one was thinking. Lord Vile was often like that.

She looked past the generals and up at Mevolent, "Well father?" She asked in a low tone.

"Very good Oria. That will be all for today." He said gruffly.

Oria turned and walked out of the dark room. She walked down the long, dimly lit corridor to her room. She slammed the door and locked it and started pacing around the cold room. She started breathing in short, panicked gasps. She sat down on the small bed and put her head in her hands and started to cry softly. Oria thought back to all the great moments they had shared together. They had been friends for years. They would still be friends if it weren't for this bloody war. Oria sighed and looked up, taking in her surroundings. A large window next to the bed, with baby blue silk curtains, a small wardrobe that held her armor and battle equipment and a small bathroom that smelled like mildew. A bedside table, with cracked white paint had several pictures resting on it. The first one was a drawing her father insisted she have; it depicted two circles, a small and large one. The small one barely intersected the large one. Oria hated what it symbolized. That sorcerers were completely helpless and could never fathom the ways of the Faceless Ones. There was one other picture; it was a painting of a beautiful woman. She had fiery red hair and a mischievous smile playing on her face. In her golden eyes, there was a hint of insanity. This was her mother. Although Oria had never met her, she still hated her. Hated her for her beliefs, and hated her for her stupidity. Her name was Twila Gruff. Twila had died shortly after giving birth to Oria. But that was her fault. Her own stupid mistakes had gotten her killed. Twila was not the smartest woman. Oria supposed that was why Mevolent asked her to marry him; he liked people dependent on him. That and she was also a very strong follower of the Faceless Ones. Twila discovered the secret to bringing the Faceless Ones back to reality when she was days away from giving birth to Oria. Being the stupid hag that she was, she decided to bring a Faceless One to reality, right then while she was carrying an unborn child. She somehow succeeded in bringing one god to this dimension and it possessed her, and broke her mind. But a fragment of the Faceless One worked its way into Oria's conscience, and seared itself into her soul. She was not completely possessed by the fragment, but she was no longer entirely human either. The only reason Oria knew this was because the Faceless One inside her remembered being apart of Twila for a short while.

She sighed and shook her head, she could try to distract herself from the fact, but it was inevitable that she would come back to it. She had killed numerous friends of hers just so she could live. Oria groaned. She was turning out to be just like her father. She flopped back onto her bed and kicked her boots off. She laid her head down and tried to get to sleep.

She was near a small lake, surrounded by aspen trees. The wind rustled the branches and sent shivers down her spine. She was looking down at her body, lying in the tall grass. Her hair was spread out behind her head and she appeared to be sleeping. The only problem was, her chest wasn't moving. She wasn't breathing. Oria felt mild interest as she continued to look upon her corpse. She heard a rustling in the grass and she turned her head to see what was approaching her dead body. A small, dark mouse scampered towards her body, and as it approached, it began to change until it was human. She gasped as she realized it was Mevolent she was staring at. She drew her sword and stabbed his chest. He looked at her with betrayal in his eyes, and he slowly morphed into her friend she had murdered,

"NO!" She screamed, dropping the sword, watching in horror as he fell to the ground, next to her dead body.

"NO!" Oria bellowed, sitting up. She looked around the room, before realized it was a dream. She felt her pulse, just to make sure she was alive, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

She walked down the hall towards the kitchen, to find some milk. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the look of betrayal in her friend's eyes. She felt a tear trickle from her eye as she climbed the stairs. She was so wrapped up in her grieving, she ran into him.

"Oomph." She said in alarm as she hit his cold, metal breastplate. She looked up and saw the dark figure of Lord Vile.

"Oh!" She said, backing away stammering, "I'm t-terribly sorry, just on my way to get some…"

She looked up at him, why was he just standing there? What else did he expect her to say? Why didn't he say anything?

"Milk. " She finished slowly. Without a word to her, he started walking down the stairs.

She scowled at his back and went to go get her milk. She slouched in her chair, sipping her milk thoughtfully. She didn't really have any friends she could talk to Lord Vile about; she had killed them all. She couldn't go down to the prisoners and talk to them, it didn't seem right, after all, she might be killing them tomorrow. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone or something screaming from somewhere down the corridor. She walked slowly down the corridor towards the anguished cries, and stood in front of the door that was labeled, Dr. Nye. Oria rolled her eyes. Of course it was Nye. She opened the door and walked in.

The room looked like something from a mad scientist's fantasies. Lined up against one wall were numerous saws and scissors, varying in shapes and sizes. The one thing they all had in common was that they were all coated in dry blood. In the middle of the room there was an operating table with a man strapped down upon it, or what was once a man. The grotesque creature before her was cut in half down the center, and the skin was folded over to reveal the man's internal organs. His face was a bloody mess; his eyes had been carefully removed, revealing the blood red inside. But the most terrifying thing about the man was that he was still alive, and screaming like crazy. She looked away from the horrid figure and turned her attention to the operator. It had a surgical mask on, and it was humming merrily as it took out some thread and a needle.

It turned around and saw her, "Oria! How lovely for you to visit! Would you mind assisting me?"

"No…" Oria said warily

"Excellent! Now, please hold him down while I sew his mouth shut."

Oria frowned and grabbed the man's shoulders, keeping him from moving. He let out a panicked scream at her touch. Oria squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine herself somewhere else as the man's screams increased. Slowly, his screams began to sound muffled until all he could utter was, 'mmmmmph!'

"There. That's better isn't it?" Nye said cheerfully.

Oria wrinkled her nose in disgust and wiped her hands clean of the man's blood, "Why haven't you killed him yet Nye?"

Nye scowled, "Doctor Nye to you missy. The reason is that I can't find the souls inside of the dead ones, so I'm trying my luck with the living ones."

It was a well-known fact that Nye had been searching for the human soul for many years. He believed the soul was the source of all magic.

Oria glanced down at the 'patient', "How's it going then?"

Nye sighed irritably, " Not good. It is quite a challenge to keep him alive, much less search for his soul." Oria perched herself on top of one of the counters and watched it work.

Nye finally turned to her, "Why are you here Oria? You're definitely not here to help me." It said irritably.

Oria smirked, "I just needed some company. It gets pretty boring when everyone thinks you're a spy."

Nye frowned and turned back to the operating table, "Speaking of, I probably shouldn't be talking to you anyways."

Oria grinned, "Aw, c'mon Nye, just for a few more minutes."

Nye sighed, "Fine. As long as you agree to call me 'Doctor Nye' from now on."

"Fine." Oria said, trying to ignore the fact that Nye was poking around in the man's stomach.

Nye's brow furrowed as it poked deeper into the man's organs. The poor man was breathing as quickly as he could, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Nye scraped his tool against one organ, and the man's body stiffened, and he stopped breathing. Oria looked at Nye, "Well, there goes your 'patient'."

Nye shrugged and yanked its surgical mask off, "He was a nuisance anyways."

Oria frowned, "I have to ask, how did he survive so long? Any other person would die the moment you started cutting them down the middle."

Nye raised its mouth in what resembled a smirk crossed with a frown, "He was studying a remarkable branch of magic that allowed him to heal rapidly."

Oria nodded, "Well thanks. That was quite educational, Dr. Nye." She turned to leave and was at the door before she heard it speak,

"It would be OK with me if you decided to come back tomorrow."

Oria turned and smiled tightly, "I doubt I'll have time, doctor. I'll be too busy slaughtering people." She walked out of the room, leaving it to clean the corpse up.

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**Well that's the first chapter. Hope it wasn't too dull. Things will get better for Oria I hope… This chapter was inspired by ' Counting Stars' by OneRepublic, and 'Just One Yesterday' by Fallout Boy. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

Oria hummed happily and skipped down the corridor. Mevolent had other business to attend to that day, and told Oria she was free to do as she pleased. That meant no slaughtering. Thank goodness. She ran to her room and tossed her sword into her wardrobe. She was still armed; two poisonous spikes concealed in her boots should be enough to defend her. She ran from the fortress, and all the way to the small village. She walked into the small pub, and looked around. There were a few old men sitting together, talking about when they were young, and a few drunken lads that had been rejected by their sweethearts. There were a few hooded figures sitting in the corners, trying not to be noticed. She walked to a small table in the shadows. She sat there, enjoying the fact that none of these people worshipped the Faceless Ones. She thought of all she had been through that week. She sighed and looked down at the table.

"Lots on your mind miss?" Said a gruff male voice from behind her.

She turned in her chair to get a good look at the man. He was tall with dark skin and long, brown hair. He had a mischievous look in his eyes and a smile that made her heart jump.

She swallowed hard, "Yeah. Too much actually."

He grinned and sat in the chair opposite her and handed her a drink, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked at the drink warily and pushed it away, "Nah, you wouldn't believe me."

The man shrugged and gulped the drink down, "You'd be surprised by the things I've seen." He said nonchalantly.

Oria grinned, "Oh yeah? I seriously doubt that."

The man slowly lowered his drink, "What's your name?"

Oria shrugged, "Oria. Oria Crimson."

The man looked at her gravely, "Mevolent's daughter?"

"You're a sorcerer?" Oria asked surprised.

He stood up and started to walk away. Oria didn't know why, but she grabbed his arm, "Wait! I'm not like them!"

He turned on her angrily, "And why are you so different huh?"

Oria scowled, "I want out. I don't worship the Faceless Ones. It's lunacy."

The man rolled his eyes, "Why should I believe you?"

Oria bit her lip, "Do you know a sensitive?"

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm one. Why?"

"Well, go into my mind. I'm telling the truth!"

He sighed and walked back to the table and sat down, "Ok fine. Fine."

She relaxed her mind and felt him searching for any sign that she had been lying. He started going through her memories; Her talking with Nye, her trying to talk with Lord Vile, her killing her friend, her sobbing in her room after killing him. He picked out some embarrassing memories of hers, the first time she got rejected by a boy, the time she had slipped in the mud in front of everyone. He finally left her mind.

He looked at her, "We need you on our side." He said gravely.

"Great!" Oria exclaimed, "Lets get out of here." She started to stand, but the man put his hand on her shoulder,

"No. I need you to spy on your father. You are one of the closest people to him."

She looked at him with shock, "NO! Please! Don't' make me…"

The man looked down, "I'm sorry Oria, but we need you there. You're strong. You'll be alright."

He patted her shoulder and stood up and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Oria called after him, "At least tell me your name!"

He smiled sadly, "Kane. Kane Ray." And with that, he walked out into the cold night.

Oria turned back to face the small table and sighed. Well, at least he had paid the bill. She headed home a couple of minutes later. As she climbed the stairs to Dr. Nye's office, she saw Lord Vile standing at the top. He was facing his back to her and holding something him his hand. As she approached the top, she started to slow down, not wanting to disturb him. Suddenly he started walked down the corridor towards Nye's office. Oria closed her eyes and groaned inwardly. She didn't want to be near him. He was really creepy. He never talked, and that helmet of his hid everything. She crept down the hall to see where he was. She didn't see him, so she went to Nye's door and knocked.

"Come in!" It yelled from inside.

She slowly walked inside and saw that Nye had found itself a new 'patient'. This time it was a zombie.

"So now you're going with the undead huh?" Oria asked, inspecting the dull creature.

Nye nodded as it began to cut the zombie's belly with a long meat carver.

"Hey. I saw Lord Vile come down the hall. Then he disappeared. Do you know where he went?"

Nye glared at her, "Its called necromancy Oria, now get out."

"What?" Oria asked confused.

Nye growled, "Out. Now." It pointed at the door, still scowling.

Oria glared at it and trudged out of the laboratory. She sighed. They had just begun to connect the other day and then she had to bring up Lord Vile. He ruined everything. Oria opened the door to her room and walked over to her desk. She sat down and started to doodle. She heard a knock on the door and went to answer it, expecting Nye with an apology. Instead her father, Mevolent opened the door. He looked down at her with distaste, then started speaking in a bored voice,

"Oria. Your performance has been satisfactory to the generals and me. We have voted and have decided to lift your punishment. You have been promoted to Lord Vile's assassin. He will help you with your skills. Your first mission will be with him tomorrow at nine pm."

Oria nodded curtly, carful not to show any surprise, "May I ask sir, why are YOU telling me this?"

Mevolent looked down at her disdainfully, "Because that's what fathers do. That is what Lord Vile told me is traditional. To tell their children good news." He raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that right Oria?"

Oria nodded, but she was very confused on the inside. How would Vile know what fathers were supposed to do, did he have children? _No. Vile destroys life, he doesn't create it. _She thought firmly.

Mevolent pulled her into a forced and awkward hug for a moment and then shoved her away from him and walked away. Oria scowled after him, _So much for family…_ Oria thought.

She watched all of her memories fly threw Kane's mind as him combed through them, looking for details, or clues. She looked at him impatiently, it was 7 pm right now, and she needed to get back to the fortress by 9. She had to do her mission with Vile. Sensing her anxiety, Kane withdrew from her mind and looked at her with concern,

"What is it?"

"I need to be back by nine. Remember? Mevolent told me yesterday."

Kane nodded and took her hand, smiling, "Well, I wouldn't want you to be late for your first date."

Oria looked at him with horror, "DATE? That is NOT what this is Kane. He's probably as old as my dad!"

Kane grinned, "Oh, so you have a thing for older guys?" He said teasingly.

Oria smacked his arm playfully, "I do not LIKE HIM."

Kane took her hand and kissed it gently, "Well, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

Oria blushed and watched him walk away. She turned quickly and started running back to the castle. Her mind was racing,

'_He LIKES me!'_

_ 'No he does NOT.'_

_'But why would he kiss my hand?'_

_'Because he's using you. Do you really think he would fall in love with Mevolent's daughter?'_

Oria listened to that voice in her head. It was right. He probably didn't like her. She grinned, but that didn't mean she had to stop liking him.

When she fin ally found Lord Vile, she was three minutes late. He looked at her, his helmet covering any expression he might have.

She gulped, "Um. Sorry I'm late."

He started walking away. She ran alongside him to match his long strides, "I promise it won't happen again."

He didn't answer or give any sign he had heard her. Oria followed him to the stables before she asked, "How do I communicate with you?"

Lord Vile turned to her, and his armor shot several tendrils of darkness out. The shadows twisted until Oria realized they had formed words. _Get a horse. _The shadows spelled. Oria nodded and grabbed her favorite horse. Vile grabbed his black steed and started galloping away. Oria snapped her reins and her horse ran after his. They travelled for about two hours before stopping in front a large manor.

Oria turned to Vile, "What do you want me to do?"

_Get inside. Kill everyone. _Vile spelled.

Oria sighed. She looked up at the manor. It was made of stone, with plenty of handholds. She saw the double doors. She shrugged, she could just walk in. It didn't matter if there were any alarms, they were all going to die anyways. She started to walk towards the doors, but a rope of shadows dragged her back near Vile.

She glared at him, "Why can't I go through the doors?"

_Doors are for people with no imagination. _He spelled.

Oria rolled her eyes and walked over the window next to the door. She threw her sword at the glass. The glass shattered and she heard a man scream. She climbed in and saw the butler, her sword protruding from his chest. She walked over and grabbed her sword, then headed upstairs. She walked into a room and saw two people rolling around on the bed, enjoying a romantic moment, unaware that Oria was there and ready to kill them. She slowly backed away from the door and walked downstairs where Vile was waiting.

"They're um… kinda busy at the moment" She mumbled to Vile, cheeks bright red.

_Kill them now. _Vile ordered her.

She looked at him, "But-but they're-"

_I know what they're doing, and I'm telling you to kill them. _Vile spelled, the shadows flaring angrily.

Oria sighed and walked up the stairs reluctantly. She closed her eyes and tapped both of their heads. They lay limply in each other's arms. She walked out of the room and killed the two maids and the child. Then she walked downstairs, back to Vile.

She to nodded him and let him inspect her work. When he came back downstairs, he walked past her and climbed out the broken window. She followed him, being careful to avoid broken glass. By the time she climbed out the window, Vile was already fading from view. She sighed and mounted her horse, then raced after him.

**Ok. There's Chapter two. Hope you liked it and that you'll continue reading…. (Feedback welcome as always)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

It had been a few years since she had started working for the sanctuary. She and Kane had been going out for quite a while. She loved him more than anything else in the world. He was the reason her life was worth keeping. She would most definitely sacrifice herself for him, something she had never been willing to do for anyone else.

Oria lay on her bed, listening to _Sleepers Wake _and grinning with thoughts of him. She snapped back to reality when she heard a knock on her door. She jumped up and opened the door. There was a vampire standing there, holding an envelope out to her. She took it from him and he walked away to deliver more mail.

She opened the envelope and pulled out a slip of paper that said, _See Lord Vile for mission update. _She sighed and folded up the piece of paper. She put on her boots and grabbed her sword. She knocked on Lord Vile's door. It swung open and Lord Vile strode down to the stables. Oria jogged after him. They grabbed their horses and Oria followed Vile for a while. When he stopped, Oria's heart sunk with dread. This was one of the Sanctuary's bases. The one Kane ran.

Vile turned to her and spelled, _do not kill. We're going to capture them for questioning._

Oria nodded. She prayed that Kane wasn't in the building.

They detained two of Kane's buddies, Connor and Erich. They looked at her with hatred, believing that she had betrayed them. Vile led the way, while Oria placed her hand on Connor's skull, and her sword pointed at Erich's back. With a jolt of magic and a quick thrust, she could kill them both. She watched Vile walk into where Kane usually stayed. Panic rose in her chest, threatening to consume her. _Please. PLEASE don't let him be in there! _

She heard a struggle from inside and almost cried out when Kane was dragged from the room by Vile. His lip was bloody and he had a gash on his forehead. He looked up at her angrily, and she looked at him with pleading eyes. He slowly shuffled to stand beside Connor, and went into her mind to see if she had betrayed them. When he found no evidence, he sighed with relief. Lord Vile strode quickly back to the horses. He took Erich from the group and put him on his horse. Oria helped Kane and Connor onto her horse. She climbed on behind Kane.

She whispered a quick, 'Sorry' and started racing after Vile. They pushed their horses hard and had them trot all the way. When they reached the fortress, Vile took the three to the dungeons.

Oria ran to her room and slammed the door. She collapsed onto her bed, sobbing. She hated her life. She hated her father, and most of all, she hated this bloody war. Oria cried herself asleep that night, listening to _Sleepers Wake, _Which, of course, made her cry harder. Soon Oria fell into a troubled sleep. Oria woke up to several pairs of hands grabbing her. She snapped her head up and looked around. Two redhoods were carrying her. She touched one of their hands, expecting to hear a snap of bone breaking, but nothing happened. She looked down and saw her hands had been shackled. She was dragged to Mevolent's study where Lord Vile and Mevolent stood. Vile was holding his sword to Erich's throat. Erich was shaking with fear, and when he looked up at Oria, his eyes were filled with pain and panic.

_He ratted you out Oria. _The Faceless One in her whispered.

"Oria." Mevolent said coldly, "This man claims you are a spy and you're in a affair with the leader of that base, Kane Ray."

Oria shook her head, "He's lying. I can prove it. I'll kill him."

Mevolent scowled down at her, "You won't be killing HIM, You'll be killing this young man." Mevolent snapped his fingers and two redhoods pushed a beat up man that looked like he had been through years of torture. Oria paled as she realized whom it was.

It was Kane.

**Yep. Sorry this chapter was short, thanks for all of y'all that kept reading, hope you liked it. I really do feel sorry for Kane. Imagine if your father wanted you to kill your first boyfriend (Or girlfriend)… (Any feedback I get will speed up the updates.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

Oria stood there for a moment before drawing her sword. She could do this. If she killed him, she could live. She could survive a bit longer. Wasn't that what life was about? Surviving? Yes. She would kill Kane and save herself. Like she always had. She advanced towards him, avoiding eye contact. Then it struck her, why would she want to survive? She would have killed the most important thing in her life, him. She looked down at him. He looked back up at her with his dark eyes.

She took a deep breath, what she would do next would change her forever. She turned and lunged at Mevolent. He gestured lightly at her and she flew back and hit the wall. Her vision blurred for a moment. She shook her head and things came into focus. She looked down and saw her sword a few feet away. She dived for it, but a wall of air blocked her. She looked up at Mevolent.

He grinned evilly and clicked his fingers. A large flame appeared. He threw it and it struck Kane full in the chest.

"NO!" Oria screamed and ran towards Kane. She slammed against another wall of air. Mevolent had formed some kind of box around her. She slammed against the air desperately as she watched Kane scream in pain as another fireball hit him. She was sobbing now, pleading Mevolent to let her go, to save him.

Mevolent looked down at her and smirked. He clicked his fingers one last time and summoned a huge fire ball in one hand, and a sphere of water in the other,

"Now. Oria. This is my deal. You can tell me where the Sanctuary's main base is, and I throw this water at him, and make sure he survives. Or, stay quiet and let him die."

Oria looked at Kane with panic.

Mevolent looked at her slyly, "No? Then…" He moved his hand back and prepared to throw it.

"NO! WAIT!" Oria shouted, "Its- its Grandel! Now throw the water! Quickly!"

Mevolent threw the water at Kane and it put out the flames. Kane's body laid there, his flesh blackened and exposing the bone in various places. He was dead.

Mevolent shrugged, "Pity about that." He walked over to Oria who was frozen with shock and patted her shoulder. Then he turned to the redhoods and motioned for them to grab her. Oria seemed to snap to her senses as the redhoods touched her. She started screaming, "NO KANE! FATHER! DON'T DO THIS! I'M YOUR DAUGHTER!"

Mevolent ignored her and went back to reading a report from Serpine.

Oria turned to Vile desperately, "VILE! PLEASE! DON'T LET THEM DO THIS TO ME!"

Vile looked at her, and then tilted his head. He turned away and disappeared into the shadows. The redhoods dragged Oria down to the dungeons and threw her in a cell. Her head smacked into the cold floor, and the world went black.

Vile reappeared in his room. Something was wrong. Seeing people in pan usually calmed him down, but this time he felt something different. Something he had never experienced in this form before. He felt pity. For her. That girl that usually annoyed him so. This was bad. It meant that the other side of him was reappearing, and Vile didn't want that. He wanted to stay in power. He wanted to live. He wanted to kill. He felt another voice in his head. It was yelling at him to save that girl. He knew who it was,

"Skulduggery." Vile growled. It was the first thing he had said in this form, "This is no longer your body. Leave." He banished the other one's personality, but something told him that it would not be long before Pleasant would reappear.

Oria woke up to people talking.

"…I can't get in. She has mental shields that are protecting her."

"Well can't you destroy them?"

"No. Whoever did them was extremely powerful."

Oria opened her eyes. She was in a dark room and she was strapped down to a chair. There were three figures standing there, two of them she didn't recognize, but one of them she knew was Lord Vile. He was standing silently, and staring straight ahead.

One of the figures noticed she was up, "Hey! Look!" He pointed at her. They walked over and dragged her chair forward. One of them lit a candle and held it in front of his face. He was a fat, warty man. The other was a scrawny midget. The midget climbed into her lap so he could look her in the face,

"Ok girl. Tell us everything you know about the Sanctuary."

Oria sniffed with distaste and turned her head away from the little man.

The man growled, "Ok missy. You asked for it." He slapped her face.

"Now. Tell me everything you know about the Sanctuary."

Oria looked at him coldly, "If you think you're dealing with a sissy, think again. I'm a soldier and if you think a slap across the face is going make me spill, then get yourself a new job."

The man sneered, "Ok, I was trying to be nice, but I guess I'll just turn you over to Vile now." He scrambled off her lap and walked up the stairs with his warty friend. Vile stepped forward and drew a tendril of shadows from the corner. He fashioned it into a whip and snapped it next to her ear, barely missing her. Oria resisted the urge to flinch. She would not let him win. He wanted her to beg for him to stop, but she was strong. She was part god for goodness sake. Vile saw the defiance in her eyes and lashed her face with the whip.

Oria cried as the whip hit the flesh surrounding her left eye. She felt blood trickling down from forehead and dripping from her eyelashes. She had to close her eyes to avoid getting blood in her eye. She felt the next lash, and managed to keep her cries in. Then the next on came and the pain became unbearable. She struggled against her bonds that restrained her magic. She longed for the Faceless One's power. If she could get out of this, she could kill Vile in seconds. Vile struck her back, and she cried in agony.

"Tell me…" Vile rasped. Oria froze. She didn't know he could speak.

"TELL ME!" He rasped in his unused voice.

Oria shook her head vigorously. She felt the whip lash across her face in the same place as last time. She screamed and fell into darkness.

Vile looked at her, she was bloody and the lash on her face would most definitely be a scar. The other one's conscious was back, and he was getting stronger. Vile growled. Every time he witnessed this girl in pain, he felt the other one getting stronger. He had to leave. Now. He disappeared into the shadows and reappeared in the small village. He shadow walked again until he had reached a distant mountain range.

**Sorry if you liked Kane. He's dead as a… dead thing. Hope you guys think I'm portraying Vile OK, tell me if I've missed anything or if you think that it could be better. (I love you if you've reviewed or favorited or followed.) Anyone you want me add? Hopefully Oria gets out of this, I don't know how long she'll survive.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

**Thank You all of you kind people who are still reading this. It would make my day if you left a review, but I also want to thank the people who have followed this story. You all are amazing.**

It had been twenty years. Twenty years since she had felt the relief of full magic, (although she was still given enough to slow her aging.) Twenty years since Vile had gone missing, and most importantly, twenty years since she had seen Kane die and since she had been imprisoned. She hadn't cracked yet, but she was close. The first few months, she had hope that the sanctuary would rescue her. That they would remember how much she knew. But as the years passed, she came to believe that Kane had never told the Grand Mage, Meritorious, about her. So that meant no chance of rescue. She still heard bits of news of the war, for instance; The great Skulduggery Pleasant was back from the dead and he was a skeleton. Oria scoffed at these words. There was no way that was possible.

Oria picked at the dirt on her skin. She heard the creak of her cell opening and she looked up. It was Nye.

She grinned up at it, "Come to rescue me doctor?"

Nye looked at her, "Your father has given me permission to search for your soul."

Oria went cold, she stammered, "W-what?"

Two redhoods grabbed her and dragged her onto her feet. Nye led the way to his office, where she would be slaughtered. As they climbed the stairs, she counted her heartbeats, since each one was precious. She savored every moment she breathed in a deep breath. She had known this day was coming; it was only a matter of time before Mevolent grew weary of her. She now knew what it was like for all those people she had killed. The redhoods strapped her to the operation table and Nye readied its tools.

* * *

Skulduggery crept down hallway; he wasn't on a mission, not an official one anyways. This was personal. He was looking for Serpine and Nye. He crept up the stairs towards the monster's operating room. He was crept into the room and looked around. The doctor was nowhere to be seen. Skulduggery was about to leave when he heard footsteps coming towards the room. He dove behind a cabinet as the door opened and Nye walked in. Two redhoods followed dragging someone or something along. He couldn't see what it was from his position, but he really didn't care.

His nonexistent eyes locked onto Nye, it had it's back to him and it was preparing some tools. It was now or never. Skulduggery leapt forward and held his knife to the Crenga's throat.

"NO!" Skulduggery heard someone scream from behind him. He turned his head and saw a girl strapped to the operation table. She had red hair and a deep scar that started on the left side of her forehead and ended near the left corner of her lip.

Oria looked at the skeleton with desperation, she didn't want Nye to die. She had been a friend to it, they had talked, and it had invited her back. She didn't want to loose another person she knew. The skeleton stared at her with empty eye sockets.

Nye wriggled beneath the skeleton's weight. The skeleton turned to face it and hit it over the head with the butt of his knife. Nye collapsed to the floor and the skeleton strode quickly to Oria's side.

"You're Oria aren't you?" He asked her in a soft, velvet voice.

Oria raised an eyebrow, "Are you the famous Skulduggery Pleasant? Or a hallucination?"

He tilted his head, "I'm Skulduggery Pleasant."

Oria grinned, "Great! Get me out of here please."

Skulduggery began to unbuckle her.

Oria felt the magic rush into her blood again. She gasped with happiness. She grabbed Skulduggery's little finger and he yelled in pain as it fell to the floor.

He glared at her and picked the finger up and put it back in place, "Please don't do that again."

Oria shrugged, "Sorry. It's been twenty years, I'm a little rusty"

She stood up and looked at him expectantly, "Ok. Let's get out of here."

Skulduggery shook his head, "Not till I kill Serpine."

Oria frowned, "Him? He's gone. He' gone to attack some sanctuary base."

Skulduggery tilted his head, "How would you know that?"

Oria grinned, "You'd be surprised how much information slips through the jailer's mouth when he's drunk."

Skulduggery nodded, "Ok then. Let's get out of here."

Oria frowned at him, "But- Mevolent's here we could kill him!"

Skulduggery looked down at her, "No. You're too weak and I'm not powerful enough."

Oria almost told him then, she was so desperate for revenge, "But I'm part…" She trailed off and came to her senses. She couldn't tell him, he'd kill her. She hadn't even told Kane. Why would she tell Skulduggery? She bit her lip, she felt like she knew him.

Skulduggery regarded her carefully, "You're part what?"

Oria looked up at him and was about to answer when an alarm sounded.

Skulduggery cursed and grabbed her arm. They ran down the stairs and he led her to the cellar. There was a small, unguarded door and a window next to it. (No. The cellar is NOT underground in this case.) Skulduggery climbed through the window. Oria frowned and followed him,

"Why are we going through the window?" She asked.

"Because doors are for people with no imagination." He replied.

Oria froze; she'd heard that before. She didn't remember where, but it was so familiar.

"What is it?" Skulduggery asked her,

She shook her head, "It's… nothing." She climbed through the window and landed beside him. They raced to the stables and Oria was astonished to see that the horses were still alive after all this time. They must have been given enhanced lives by a witch or something. Oria jumped on her horse and looked back at Skulduggery. He was mounting the black steed.

"That was Lord Vile's horse." Oria commented.

Skulduggery looked at her and then dismounted the steed.

Oria laughed, "It's a good horse, you should take him."

Skulduggery shook his head and grabbed another horse nearby. Oria shrugged and galloped away, leaving Skulduggery and his slow horse in the dust.

**YAY! They finally met! But now there are lots of secrets… Will Oria EVER pick up on all the clues that Skulduggery has left behind on his other identity? Or will Skulduggery tell her. Will Oria tell Skulduggery about her being part Faceless One? Stay tuned to find out :P (Please REVIEW if you like the story and if you like carrots)**


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